Food package



Jan. 21, 196 A, LElBsoN ET AL 3,423,005

FOOD PACKAGE Filed Jan. a', 1967 Sheet of 2 25 "VY l fn 0671225715.'

ZUQIQJ Gray/fn dba' aamleison Jan. 21, 1969 A. ElasoN ETAL 35,423,005

FOOD PACKAGE Filed Jan. 5, 1967 Sheet` 2 of 2 United States Patent O 11 Claims ABSTRACT F THE DISCLOSURE A food package comprises a paperboard body having opposed front and rear walls, opposed end walls, a bottom wall, and a top closure, hingedly interconnected to one another at corresponding adjacent edges. A plastic pouch, suitable for conning a product, is disposed within the body, the pouch being in a form of a tube having its opposite ends sealed. A tear strip is provided in the pouch and located in the portion of the pouch which is adjacent the top of the body so that the tear strip is readily accessible when the top is opened. The top of the body has a closure ap which overlaps a portion of the front wall and is releasably secured thereto.

This invention relates to a food package having an outer body of paperboard and an inner pouch of film and to such a package having an easy opening and readily recloseable construction. More particularly, this invention relates to a food package suitable to be readily filled with product, vacuum drawn or gas flushed, and sealed closed.

This invention includes the combination of a tubular paperboard body and a tubular plastic lilm pouch within the body. The plastic pouch has a tear strip extending the length of the tubular structure between the opposite ends. The opposite ends of the tubular pouch are sealed closed, and the paperboard body has end flaps which are closed over the end seams of the pouch and thereby close the package. The paperboard body has its lapped manufacturers panel which can be ripped away to expose the tear strip, which in turn is used to sever the pouch for opening it. The package is reclosed by closing and locking in place the lap panel of the paperboard body. The package is readily adapted for vacuum or gas flush type sealing, since the product can be loaded into the package through corresponding open or unsealed ends of the pouch and body, the required vacuum or gas flush sealing operation can be performed on the pouch, and thereafter the body can be closed and sealed at said end. Vacuum or gas flush type packages help preserve the flavor of the product for longer periods than other type packages.

Accordingly, an object of this invention is to provide an improved lined package having an inner pouch that completely encloses the product and has a tear strip, and an outer paperboard body around the pouch that is opened adjacent the tear strip.

A more specific object of this invention is to provide a hood construction for the paperboard body which upon being opened automatically exposes the` end of the tear strip for said pouch to provide for the ready opening of the package.

Another object of this invention is to provide a lined food package which is suitable for the vacuum or gas flushed confinement of the product.

These and other objects will be more fully appreciated after referring to the following specification, including as a part thereof, the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a food package made according to the teachings of the subject invention;

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FIG. 2 is a perspective View of the same package shown in FIG. l, except with the package being partly opened and broken away to show the details of construction more clearly;

FIG. 3 is a top plan view as seen from the inside of the package of a paperboard blank suitably cut and scored to dene the body section of the subject package;

FIG. 4 is a top plan view of a portion of an alternate blank construction;

FIG. 5 is an end elevational View of the package formed with the blank shown in FIG. 4; and

FIG. 6 is a perspective View showing the same hood construction in the opened position.

A package 10, suitable for bacon for example, having one embodiment of the subject invention is disclosed in FIGS. 1 and 2, and includes a paperboard body 12 and a plastic film pouch 14. The body 12 is formed from a blank 16 (see FIG. 3) having a plurality of panels hinged together on generally parallel hinged lines to define, which appropriately folded and secured to one another, and enclosure surrounding the pouch. The body thus has opposed front and rear walls 20 and 21, respectively, opposed end walls 23, and a bottom wall 25 connected together at corresponding adjacent edges. A closure 28 is provided for the open top of the body and includes a top wall 30 hinged to the body rear wall 21 and an outer front wall panel 32 hinged to the top wall 30 about scoreline 33. Flaps 35 and 37 are hinged above score lines 36 and 38, respectively, to the side edges of the top wall and outer front wall panel and are overlapped and secured together to make a hood-like closure.

The outer front wall or lap panel 32 overlies and is separably secured to the front wall 20 in the carton closed position (see FIG. 1) to define the manufacturers joint for the tubular body. Preferably, adhesive patterns 40 are located at spaced intervals along the length of the carton beneath the lap panel 32, and each pattern of adhesive is completely surrounded by a cut line 42 extending partially through the paperboard blank. This permits a shearing or delamination of the paperboard beyond the cut lines. To assist in opening the body closure 28, a lift panel 44 is hinged about score line 45 to the lower edge of the outer front wall panel 32.

The pouch 14 is disposed within the body enclosure 12 and is in the form of a tube of plastic disposed with its longitudinal axis extending through and between the body end walls 23. The otherwise opened ends of the lilm pouch are sealed closed along seams 47 which are disposed adjacent the body end walls. A tear strip 50 is adhered internally to the pouch 14 and extends between the seams 47 at the opposite ends thereof. Preferably, the tear strip is formed of an oriented strip of plastic that is compatible to and is thus integrally heat sealed to the pouch plastic.

The opposite `body end walls 23 are formed by overlapping inner and outer flaps 52 and 54 hinged on score lines 53 and 55, respectively, to the rear and front body walls. A minor flap 56 is further hinged about score 57 to the bottom wall 25 and underlies both major flaps 52 and 54. The major end flaps 52 and 54 are full and continuous for almost the full height of the carton, except for the top edges thereof, and the top edge 60 of the inner ap 52 is cut away on a sloping angle from a point adjacent the bottom edge of the outer front wall panel 32 to the top of the rear wall 21. The overlying outer end wall ap 54 is cut away completely at this location to provide only a single thickness of end wall.

The pouch is designed to t within the body in a manner with the ends of its tear strip 50 being disposed in adjacent approximately overlying relationship to the inner end wall ap 54 (see FIG. 2). Upon opening the body closure 28, the end 61 of the tear strip 50 is exposed to permit it to be grasped and drawn in a direction across the pouch to open the pouch by severing it with and along the tear strip. The product such as bacon strips, can then be withdrawn from the open top of the pouch by sliding therefrom the pad 62 upon which the product is typically positioned.

The package 10 can be reclosed by folding the closure forwardly about the top wall hinge line and overlying the outer front wall panel on the front wall 20. To hold the closure in this position, a tab 63, formed as an integral extension of the lift panel 44 and extending beyond the hinge connection 45 between the lift panel and the lap panel 32, is adapted to be fitted into an opening 64 in the front wall.

The pouch is secured to the body at only spaced locations, such as at the various dots 70 of adhesive shown on the blank in FIG. 3 near the edges of the major front or rear panels. This holds the pouch to these panels at only these locations and permits minor shifting of the pouch within the body as is sometimes necessary during the vacuum or gas flushing sealing operation used in this package. Along these lines, the pouch 14 is formed of an air impervious lm to prevent or retard the fusion of air or gases.

To aid in the display of the product, a window opening 74 is provided in the front wall 20 which thereby exposes the pouch therebeneath. The pouch is of a transparent material to afford product visibility. The pouch is adhered to the front wall in the area of the window opening by discontinuous strips 76 of adhesive disposed adjacent the window opening 74. Since the pouch is secu-red to the blank at spaced locations only, there is little likelihood of trapping air in the form of bubbles between them when they are initially secured together. Generally, the pouch will be secured as a tubular, open ended element to the fiat paperboard blank, which in turn is folded and secured over the pouch as a tubular open ended sleeve.

FIGS. 4, and 6 show an alternate embodiment of the body construction used in the package. The embodiment differs in the cooperation of the closure flaps 35a and 37a relative to the end wall flaps 52a and 54a. Thus, the inner end wall fiap 52a is cut away along its top edge 60a in a manner similar to the previous embodiment, 4but the top edge 61a of the outer end wall has a horizontal section 66 extending part way across the width of the end wall and an upwardly inclining section l67 that defines thereby a tab 68. The tab 68 is not adhesively secured to the inner flap 52 but the adhesive between the flaps terminates along a line 69 shown in section in FIG. 5. The outer hood closure flap 37a similarly has its opposite free end cut away along line 79 to complement the sloping exterior edge of the tab 68. The tab 80 dened by the projection of the inner closure flap 35a beyond the trimmed outer closure ap 37a thus can be inserted beneath the tab 68 to provide a sure as well as neat reclosure for the subject package.

What is claimed is:

1. A food package, comprising the combination of:

(a) a paperboard body having opposed front and rear walls, opposed end walls and a bottom wall, hingedly -connected to one another at corresponding adjacent edges;

(b) a plastic film pouch, suitable for confining the product, disposed within the body;

(c) said pouch being in the form of a tube having its opposite open ends sealed along seams that are adjacent the body end walls;

(d) a tear strip for the pouch formed of an oriented strip of plastic adhered to the pouch and extending between the end seams of the pouch adjacent the open top of the body;

(e) said pouch and said body 'being held together by adhesive applied between the pouch and at least one of the front and rear walls;

(f) a closure for the open top of the body, including a top wall hinged to the body rear wall and an outer front wall panel hinged to the top wall and overlapping the body front wall;

(g) said closure further including flaps hinged to the side edges of the top wall and outer front wall panel and overlapping and being adhesively secured to one another;

(h) said outer front wall panel being separably secured along a local pattern of bonding to the body front wall;

(i) said front wall including a cut line extending partially through and continuously around the bonding pattern;

(j) a lift panel hinged to the lower edge of the outer front wall panel and being separated from the underlying body front wall;

(k) said package being opened by pulling on the lift panel to separate the outer front wall panel from the front wall for opening the package, and the pouch then being opened by severing it along the tear strip;

(l) said lift panel having a tab extension coplanar therewith that is cut from the front wall outer panel and adapted to be inserted into an opening in the underlying front wall upon reclosing the closure for locking it closed.

2. A package according to claim 1, wherein the pouch is adapted to be evacuated of the air therein and charged with an atmosphere that is different from ambient before both end seams are sealed, and wherein thereafter said product is exposed only to the atmosphere until the pouch is opened by said tear strip.

3. A package according to claim 1, wherein the front wall has therein an opening spaced inwardly of its hinged connections to the end and bottom walls and spaced inwardly of the lift panel operable to provide display of the pouch and the bacon therein, and wherein the pouch and the body are held together by strips of adhesive disposed im-mediately adjacent the top and bottom edges of the display opening.

4. A package according to claim 1, wherein each of the end walls includes outer and inner panels hinged, respectively, to the front and rear walls and overlapping one another and being secured together, the inner end wall panel being cut away on a diagonal from the hinge connection between the rear and top walls to the lower edge of the outer front panel and the outer end wall panel being cut away from this same lower edge location adjacent the front wall, said closure flaps -being disposed in this area in substantially coplanar relationship to the outer end Wall panel when the package is closed.

5. A package according to claim 4, wherein the outer end wall panel extends upwardly and rearwardly from the lower edge location adjacent the front wall and is free from connection to the inner end wall panel in this area to permit the closure flaps to be tucked between the outer and inner end wall panels to reclose the package.

6. A package according to claim 4, wherein the end of the tear strip is folded over the inner end wall panel and is confined thereagainst by the closure flaps, and is exposed upon separating the closure from the body.

7. A food package, comprising the combination of:

(a) a paperboard body having opposed front and rear walls, opposed end walls and a bottom wall, hingedly connected to one another at corresponding adjacent edges;

(b) a plastic film pouch, suitable for confining a product, disposed within the body;

(c) said pouch being in the form of a tube having its opposite open ends sealed along seams that are adjacent the Ibody end walls;

(d) a tear strip for the pouch formed of a strip of plastic adhered to the pouch and extending between the end seams of the pouch and located adjacent the top of the body to be readily accessible when the top is opened;

(e) said pouch and said body being held together by adhesive applied between the pouch and at least one of the walls;

(f) a closure for the open top of the body, including a top wall hinged to the Ibody rear wall and an outer front wall panel hinged to the top wall and overlapping the body front wall;

(g) said outer front wall panel being separably secured to the body front wall;

(h) said package being opened by separating the outerfront wall panel from the front wall thereby opening the top of the body and exposing the tear strip in the pouch, and severing the pouch along the tear strip.

8. A food package, comprising the combination of (a) a paperboard body having opposed front and rear walls, opposed end Walls, and a bottom Wall, hingedly connected to one another at corresponding adjacent edges so that the front wall has one free edge;

(b) a plastic lm pouch, suitable for confining the product, disposed within the body and extending beyond said free edge of the front Wall toward the top of the body;

(c) said pouch being in the form of a tube having its opposite open ends sealed along seams that are adjacent the body end walls;

(d) a tear strip in the pouch extending between the end seams thereof and located adjacent the top of the body to be readily accessible when the top is opened;

(e) a top closure panel for the body and hinged to the body rear wall to overlap a marginal portion of the front wall and to be releasably secured thereto;

(f) said package being opened by separating the top closure panel from the front wall thereby exposing said tear strip, and by severing the pouch along and with said tear strip.

9. A package according to claim 8, wherein the tear strip is formed of a strip of plastic and is adhered to the pouch between the end seams thereof.

10. A package according to claim 8, wherein a lift panel is hinged to the top closure panel and is free from connection to the underlying front wall suitable to provide a gripping area for easy separation of the top closure panel and front wall.

11. A package according to claim 8, wherein the pouch is air-tight upon the sealing of the end seams, and wherein the pouch is adapted to be evacuated of the air conned therein and charged with an atmosphere different from ambient before the end seams are sealed.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,200,818 5 1940 Bergstein 229-14 2,493,337 1/1950 Buttery 229-14 2,699,285 1/ 1955 Bell et al.

2,828,060 3/1958 Brown 229-51 X 2,946,499 7/ 1960 Creelman.

2,973,086 2/1961 Thompson 206-45.31 3,223,230 12/1965 Bianchi 20S-45.31 3,235,167 2/ 1966 Suensson 229-51 DAVIS T. MOORHEAD, Primary Examiner.

U.S. Cl. X.R. 

